


Of Griffins, Flowers and Wolves

by StarD0esntSleep



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe — Canon Divergence, And youre a druid that was raised by a witcher, Angst, Blood and Injury, Curses, Eskel Has Self-Esteem Issues (The Witcher), F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Geralt is Mentioned so far but WILL appear later on, God this is slow burn, Hurt/Comfort, In the story idk abt ur personal life, Lil Bleater is here and we love her, M/M, Magic, Maybe havent decided yet, Minor Character Death, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Patched him up and fell in love..., Romance, Slow Burn, Soft Eskel (The Witcher), Tfw you find a hot dude bleeding to death in the forest in front of your house, The Witcher - Freeform, What If you found eskel in the woods bleeding, Witchers Have Feelings (The Witcher), YOU the reader need a hug, any they used for the reader is like... Gender neutral not necessarily the reader going by they them, but like minor, embarassed emoji
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26340634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarD0esntSleep/pseuds/StarD0esntSleep
Summary: You are a druid who was raised by a witcher, you had to watch him die in your arms while traveling, and you lost your closest friend shortly after. Having had bad experiences with romance has not helped either. You decide that love isn't worth it, it isn't worth watching those you care for die. You give up on traveling trapping yourself in the small, nonhuman friendly town and ignoring how you wish to fly.One day, however you find a witcher named Eskel in the woods, bleeding after having killed monsters that plague your town, you care for him and tell yourself that nothing will come of it, that normal witchers come and go, that the strange feelings that start to appear in your chest will go away. You might be wrong.A/N: i SUCK at summaries, my b. My tumblr is: Whatareyouac0p and my twitter is Wanted4Treas0n
Relationships: Eskel (The Witcher)/Original Character(s), Eskel (The Witcher)/Reader
Comments: 20
Kudos: 50





	1. The Two Witchers

You are sitting in a field of flowers next to a witcher that is slowly bleeding out. Your hands linked as you try your hardest not to sob. You tell him stories he already knows, stories he hasn’t heard and jokes that do nothing to break the sorrow.

  
He touches your cheek, causing you to stop and you look into his eyes, the eyes of the man you’ve known all your life. Bright gold, pupils dilated. He takes off his School of Griffin medallion and painfully sits up to put it around your neck. You fall into his arms and hold him tight as he kisses your head.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m-”  
“Nothing to be sorry about. You’ve given me something a Witcher never gets. Love and company in death.” his voice is weak, you know he’s fading.

You bury your face in his chest, his words doing nothing to alleviate the guilt. What kind of druid can’t save their own father?

He says your name softly and you hold on tighter.  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too, my beautiful little griffin.” He takes a last shuddering breath before going completely limp. 

You sob in a field of flowers until the sun sets and rises up again.

___

You finally get to the town, the small town you’ve found that doesn’t hate witchers. You try to find peace in a proper burial, only to find out your childhood friend has died.

You promise to never travel again. And to never love.

**10 years later.**

Eskel wakes up again in his room at Kaer Morhen, snow melting outside, flowers blooming and Lil Bleater sleeping next to him. The cold is less bitter and warmth is slowly starting to make its way into the Continent. Somehow he feels like this year will be different, something deep in his bones. He rolls out of bed and sighs, he’s to go back on the Path today, his pack full, Scorpion waiting outside, all he has to do is get dressed and say goodbye to his brothers and Vesimier. Maybe tease Geralt about his bard, but that isn’t a _requirement_ per say.  
After getting ready he meets the others in the courtyard. They hug, they promise to stay safe and Eskel tells Geralt to bring his ‘little lark’ next year, which gets him tackled.

He sets off as he always does, a bit sad but determined. He belongs on the Path after all. 

___

There doesn’t seem to be any contracts around, which shouldn’t be a surprise, spring still not in full season but it was getting strange, a distinct lack of monsters, it only gets weirder when he runs into a mage in the woods. Her eyes glow in a way even unnatural for those that wield magic and she grins widely.  
“There is a little town down the path, always has contracts. And it always gives more than you ask, it gives what you need.” She points towards the thick forest. 

He blinks at her “What?”

She laughs and then she’s gone. _What fucking path? There’s no path…_ but as he looks at the forest again he sees it, clearly marked as if it’s been there for years. Oddly, his medallion does not hum and he knows somewhere within him that it’s… Not as dangerous as the usual path.

“Well, let’s hope I don’t regret this” he says to Lil Bleater, she just blinks at him. Good enough.

_

Upon arriving he is greeted happily by an older looking woman, relief painted plainly on her face, she smells vaguely of fear but it doesn’t spike when she looks at him, it spikes when she looks out into the forest.

  
“Sir Witcher! We are so grateful that you have come!”  
As Eskel gets down from the horse she bows a little and a stable hand comes out to get his horse. It was unusual, off putting but not bad per say.  
“We are in dire need of help. We will pay you 700 crowns!”  
“Alright. Could you give me a description?”

She looks a bit amused at that, he feels even more confused. “It’s a Kikimora.”  
His brows furrow, how the hell does she know what a Kikimora is?

The stable hand comes back “Actually it’s _two_ ”  
“Oh! My bad, it’s two Kikimora. So 1400 crowns?” She turns to the stablehand who just shrugs.

Eskel is drawing a blank, this town does not seem very rich, not poor but not rich either. “700 is fine.”  
“Are you sure? How about 700 and free lodging and supper for as long as you’re here?”  
“... Sure.”  
“Wonderful! Please come with me, I’ll take you to the Inn.”

As he walks through the town, following the woman he notices people's stares, but they aren’t looking at his scar, they’re looking at his medallion. And once they notice the scar fear spikes, mixing strangely with… Relief? 

The Inn keeper gives him a room and a bath no questions asked. And as he’s about to walk through the door the woman exclaims.  
“How terribly rude of me! My name is Niega, I’m one of the Mayors.”  
“One of?”  
“Yes, we have two! What if your name, Sir Witcher?”  
“.. Eskel.”  
“Sir Eskel, thank you once again, we have been in dire need of help.”  
“Just Eskel is fine.

She frowns for a moment, quickly turning into a smile. “Before I go, they seem to reside in the forest closest to the blue cottage at the edge of town. Good afternoon, Sir Eskel.”  
She leaves before he can say goodbye. He is left confused as he prepares for his contract, potions and sword in place. He pats Lil Bleater on the head and leaves her some food. “I’ll be back soon.”

He heads out, declining the supper and saying he will have some when he gets back.

He passes the blue cottage and walks through the forest. The stable boy was right about the two Kikimora, the issue is there also seemed to be a pair of Manticore… And a few Drowners. As Geralt would say, Fuck.

____

You sigh, looking through your herbs and notice that you have to collect a few more herbs… That is found in the forest. Great. You decide to look for them now, because you definitely _will_ forget if you go to look for them later. You decide to take Marmalade with you, she’s very helpful and such a good girl. A beautiful husky and your Familiar. 

You follow your usual trail, Marmalade helping you with some herbs, bringing them to you. She’s about to point to something when her ears go back and she growls.

You look at her in confusion as she starts barking in one direction before taking off.

“Shit. Marmalade, come back here!” you stuff the herbs into your pouch as you chase after you, you have two daggers on you. One silver and one steel. A habit you picked up with your father and could never drop given where you live. You follow her and see a man limping until he suddenly collapses right before Marmalade can get to him, you kneel beside him. He stinks of monster blood. Mainly Manticore and Drowner, but there is a third thing in there. He has a silver sword and as you lift him, bridal style you see his girls almost spilling out… And then you see a silver medallion. School of the Wolf.

“Well, shit.”

__ 

You have often asked yourself how it is you ended up in the situations you end up in. You asked yourself that when you were almost crowned Ruler of a very strange town, you asked yourself that when you were about to be hung for being a “Secret Siren” and now you ask yourself again as you patch up a nearly dead witcher that’s lying on your couch/living room bed, because he’s heavy and you have limits. Luckily, the years have not made you rusty, and you have the journal with you on witcher potions and healing.

You take off his shirt, stitch up his stomach, give him the potions (making note that some need refilling) and tend to his cuts. Luckily he doesn’t need that much stitching and you have a lot of healing supplies on you. After you strip him down to his small clothes and tend to all his wounds you bring a pillow down to place under his head and you stare.

A wolf witcher. Handsome one at that, rugged scars marking half of his face, but they don’t scare you, you grew up looking at a scared face. Your hand reaches up to trail the one on your cheekbone and you take a deep breath, and head to bed.

___

The last thing Eskel remembered was seeing something white and fluffy running towards him as he collapsed to what should have very much been his death. As he wakes up, something soft under him, the smell of something delicious and the sound of soft humming, he thinks he might be in some kind of after life.

And then the pain hits quite sharply and he is very much not in any kind of after life. He groans in pain as he tries to sit up, momentarily waking up Lil Bleater that was sleeping at his feet. _Wait how-_ vaguely, he hears footsteps and suddenly feels someone gently holding him up, helping him sit up more comfortably.

“You’re going to ruin my stitch work, take it easy.” He hears your soft voice, not fully registering it as he grunts in reply. As he finally manages to sit up comfortably he opens his eyes and sees you. He loses his breath a bit. Your eyes soft, your skin glowing in the bright candle light, your full lips and the pale scar on your cheekbone.

He finds you soft yet sharp, eyes kind but very aware. You’re beautiful and he forgets to speak for a moment.

“You must be starving, would you like some stew?” you look quite worried.  
He opens his mouth, not saying anything before finally speaking. “Aren’t you hungry? You made it for-”   
“Not that hungry, and I made too much.”  
“Okay.”

You smile softly at him and head to the kitchen, his eyes following you as you serve two bowls.

“I know witchers eat quite a bit. Would you like something else too?”  
“No, thank you.”  
“Alright, I brought the healer in yesterday to check on you, she said even with your witcher healing you should stay for at least two weeks, and I’m afraid you have to stay on the couch for two more days, can’t risk moving you just yet.”  
“How’d you know I was a witcher?”

You look at him with an amused expression as you bring over the stew, sitting on the table in front of the couch.

“Well, you smelled like Drowner and Manticore and you had a bloodied silver sword… But what really gave it away was your Witcher Medallion.” His ears pink and you can’t help but think how absolutely adorable that is.

“Right.”  
You smile widely at him and he looks down at his stew before picking up the spoon and taking a sip. His cat slit pupils dilate and he looks… Very cute.

He rumbles in approval as he starts scarfing down the stew.

“I take it you like it?” You ask, taking a sip of your own.  
He nods and places the bowl in his lap, having finished it quickly.  
“Yes, thank you.”  
“You’re welcome.”

He's looking at you with furrowed brows, you haven’t smelled of fear or disgust, even the kind people in this village smelled a little like fear. In fact, you’re completely relaxed in his presence, a smell of fruit and content filing the air. He’s much too tired to school his expression, almost dying kinda does that to a person. He wonders how much this is going to cost.  
“I don’t need to have a special witcher nose to know you reek of confusion right now, Dear Witcher.” You have one brow raised and a teasing smile on your face and you are very tempted to flirt. He’s quite handsome, and besides. Witchers don’t settle down, the probabilities of anything besides the physical happening are probably low! Totally, yes. 

There's a long pause that he doesn’t seem like he’ll fill so you sigh and say “Can I at least know the name of the handsome witcher that I found half dead?”

Handsome? His confusion does not ebb, especially when he knows you're not lying. No heart stuttering, no sour smell of deceit. 

“Eskel.”  
You smile “Well, Eskel. Beautiful name. I’m (y/n). Pleasure to meet you.” you extend your hand and he reaches out tentatively to shake it.

“Nice to meet you too.” his ears are burning at the compliment.  
You notice he’s tired before he does and collect both bowls.  
“You should go back to sleep, I’ve kept you up long enough as it is. And before you ask, all of this is free. You saved us. Oh!” you dig through the bag next to the door and pull out two pouches out of your bag, Eskel eyes you curiously.

“I told the Mayors about what happened and they paid double, along with bringing your goat to you.” You place the pouches on the table and see the way his lips twitch up momentarily. You bet he’s gorgeous when he smiles.  
“Um, thank you. You didn’t have to.” He says, voice soft and disbelieving.  
“I know.” It’s a simple statement, but your voice is kind and heavy with something he doesn’t understand.

You stare for a bit more, watching as he settles into lying down. 

“Goodnight, Eskel.”

“Goodnight.”

You dream of golden eyes.

____

The next day you wake up and go to your living room to find Eskel trying to stand up.

“Whoa! Don’t do that!” You rush to his side and steady him back onto the couch. “Are you trying to bleed out?”  
He has the decency to look somewhat bashful “Sorry, I… I just wanted to reach the book.” he motions to a book that's on the side of the table facing away from the couch and blink. It’s a poetry book, one of your favorite authors.  
“Oh. We should find a way for you to be able to ask me for help when I’m not here.”  
He shakes his head “I don’t want to trouble you more than I am right now.”  
You frown, feeling a little bit frustrated. “You aren’t troubling me.” you pick up the book and hand it to him.

“Big poetry fan?”  
“...Yes. I also… Like the author quite a bit.”  
You humm “Would you like another work of his? It’s somewhat of a continuation of that book.”  
He stares for a bit “If it wouldn’t be any trouble.”  
You huff. “It wouldn’t be.” you go to the bookcase and grab the book pacing it next to him.

“You shouldn’t eat solids for a few days, would you like some Cornmeal? A family variation I promise it’s good.” 

He nods “Yes, please.”

His hands are a little too big for the book he's holding, he crouches over it as he seems to get lost in the text. You find yourself blushing for some reason. 

You make the cornmeal while humming softly under your breath and give it to him once it’s ready, sitting where you did the night before. He murmurs a thank you and tentatively tries it, looking pleased when it touches his tongue. You smile.

“I forgot to mention last night, I noticed your potions were low and restocked them.”  
He looks surprised at this. “You didn’t have to.”  
“I know.” your voice sounds amused and he can’t help a little smile that comes to his face. You refilled his potions…  
“How long was I…”  
“Three days. Scared for a moment you weren’t going to make it.”  
“... Why?”  
“Well it would kind of sucked if you just died after I patched you up, wouldn’t it?” your voice is teasing.

He gives you a sheepish smile and nods. He doesn’t understand why you’re being so kind to him but he’s too scared to ask, as if he did would make you realize you shouldn’t help him, that he wasn’t worth this much trouble.

He eyes you, seeming about to ask you something before he decides not to. He goes back to reading when you take the bowls to the sink, giving you another thanks.

___

The day goes by softly, he meets Marmalade, a very friendly husky that somehow understands how injured he is and that he cannot be pounced on, something Lil Bleater still has trouble grasping. Speaking of which, she and Lil Bleater seem to be the best of friends, cuddling up together and chasing each other through the house and out the yard.

Throughout the day he rarely seems to take his eyes off you unless he’s reading or asleep. He watches as you move throughout the house, reading and sleeping through the day as you pick out herbs and take Marmalade for a walk. He still doesn’t understand your level of care towards him. You check his complexion and make sure he eats and drinks. And he stays next to you sometimes, doing nothing, really having noticed you’d rather not be alone. He falls asleep reading and listening to your footsteps pad throughout the house.

At one point he wakes up to find you drawing on the other side of the room, you reek of frustration and you seem to keep drawing and erasing a single line. He watches you for a while before deciding to speak up.  
“Are you okay?”  
You jump a bit, having lost yourself in your, quite frankly, unproductive drawing. “Um, yeah. I just… Have trouble drawing sometimes if I don’t have any background noise.”  
He nods, looking at the book that fell on his lap while he was sleeping. “Would you… like it if I read out loud?”  
You stare for a while, a bit lost for words, people never offered to help like that, not that you kept much company anymore. “Um, if you don’t mind.”  
“I don’t.”  
“Perfect.” your voice is soft “thank you.”

He smiles, a small shy thing. And nods. His voice is a deep rumble, not too soft and not too loud. It’s perfect, drawing comes easier now, less frustration as you have a background noise to help. 

You can’t help but smile the entire time… And you can’t help but sketch his face as he draws, looking almost peaceful.

Your heart does something funny in your chest and you do your best to squash it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope yall like it so far!! Pls leave feedback and you can find me at whatareyouac0p.tumblr.com


	2. Wounds And Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two of carring for the witcher: he has Muscle and you talk about your dead dad a little bit.

The next day quiet, you open it by deciding to check on one of his deep, yet not too deep cuts on his arm. You know sooner or later you’ll have to help him out of his clothes and into new ones but given the fact that you’re fighting off a blush as he takes off his chemise to get his cuts checked, you have no idea how you’ll manage.

You unwrap the bandage on his arm and pull out one of your potions. “This might sting.”  
You apply the dark colors liquid onto his wound with a piece of cloth and hear him hiss softly through his teeth.   
“Told you.” You say. He gives you a shy smile, you apply transparent paste afterwards. “We need to keep this aired for a while. Let me check the one on your chest.”  
He puts his arm down and looks away as you take the bandage off, fingers brushing his chest, he fights off a blush. You apply the liquid again and the paste. You clear your throat, feeling a bit awkward. 

He looks away, not used to someone tending his wounds, and not having been touched in quite a while.

“So… Oatmeal or Cornmeal?”  
“Um, Oatmeal… Please.”  
“Alright, cool. Um, do you want… Fruit with that. We have a few.”  
He shakes his head “No, thank you.”

You nod. You try not to look at him, but you fail, when you look over your shoulders he’s looking away looking confused. You stop your eyes from trailing up down muscular form.

_

You’re in your garden, tending to your herbs and plants that are finally starting to bloom now that the snow has receded. It’s always been warmer here, when you see a bright yellow flower bloom. You frown, taking in a deep breath. You try not to, but you hate flowers.

Maybe it’s the flower, maybe it’s having a witcher around and maybe it’s the fact that you never talked about it, but you feel yourself break a little, heaving and not being able to stop tears that run down your face. You bury your face in your hands and let yourself cry quietly. You stop yourself from thinking about Ryia, that only leads to more heartbreak and you don’t want to deal with it. 

After a nice cry in the garden you sit back and breathe, Marmalade seeming to have sensed that you’re sad and lying in your lap as you run your fingers through her fur. You look back into the house and think about the sweet awkward witcher lying on your couch.

_

Eskel manages to sit up and pick up one of the books from the stack you left next to him. It seems to be some kind of adventure book, it speaks of godlike beings, old curses and monster hunters; though none of them use the word ‘witcher’. In it the monster hunters are praised and treated well. He frowns and scoffs, putting it down in place for a story about a princess who escapes and becomes a knight, he hmms to himself.

After a while he looks around, the house looks lived in, but bare, no pictures of anyone. It seems like only one person lives but, as if that wasn’t always the case. It’s warm and welcoming, though so he won’t question it too much. 

Lil Bleater jumps into his lap and he pets her. He can’t stop thinking about the townspeople, how despite their fear they were kind and smiled at him, about how he was given free lodging and paid more, about how he hasn’t been treated like a monster. It’s… nice but at the same time he feels on edge. Nice doesn’t tend to last long for witchers, he can’t help but be nervous, feel like maybe there’s a catch.

“What do you think, Lil Bleater? Think they’re hiding something?” She bleats at him and he nods. “Of course, maybe I’m just paranoid…”  
He spots something silver out of the corner of his eye, gleaming in the sunlight, he turns his head. It looks familiar almost like a-

You enter in that moment, cleaning your hands on your pants and follow his line of sight, you try not to panic.  
“The towns healer should be getting here soon to check on you, I think you might be ready to be moved but I want to make sure.”  
He snaps out of it and looks over at you, your face indecipherable and his nose failing him. He nods. Grateful but unsure of what to say.  
“Are you hungry?” you ask, wanting to distract him, you don’t think he’s a threat but there must have been a reason why your father was the way he was. Talked about things as he did.  
He’s about to decline when his stomach rumbles quite loudly and you hold back a laugh. “That’s a yes then.”  
He rubs his hand across his scar “I suppose so.”

__

Lunch involves more talking than yesterday.

“Why were there so many monsters in the woods? It isn’t usual.”

You sigh. “We don’t know, it’s always been like this, there used to be none, this was a quiet town where nonhumans and humans lived, when the great cleansing happened… Monsters started popping up, they’d attack townsfolk, mainly humans, we learned to not venture in the forest at night and to stay close to the town if we were to go in. We’ve learned to adapt, thought the path hasn’t opened up in a while, which has left us a bit… Lacking in monster hunters.”

He considers this, mulling it over. “Do you think it could be some kind of curse? And where are the nonhumans?”  
“Maybe, that’s the theory but I haven’t sensed chaos here in awhile, sometimes I do but it vanishes before I can track it. And the nonhumans tend to hide when the path opens. Don’t take it personally, it just comes from wanting to stay safe, once they hear you’re a witcher they’ll probably come out.”

He thinks about your phrasing, the implication that witchers have passed here before and he wants to ask, before he can, you speak up.

“So, tell me about yourself.”  
“What?”  
“You’re going to be here for two weeks, if you strain yourself maybe more. Might as well get to know my guest.”  
“I… Guess. What do you want to know?”  
“What’s your horse's name?”  
“How did you know I have a horse?”

You raise one eyebrow, amused.

“... Nevermind, dumb question. His name is Scorpion.”  
“Cool name, where do witchers get their horses? Is there a special witcher store?”  
He snorts “No, no we… Raise them at the witchers Keep, though mine is a Law of Surprise.”  
“A Horse Surprise, never heard of that before? Is your goat a goat surprise too?” you ask teasingly  
He gives you a small, amused smile. “Actually, yes she is.”  
You laugh “Really? Normally it’s a Child Surprise, isn’t it. Never heard of anyone willingly giving up their goat.”  
“Well, I’m just a special case.”  
“That you are. Probably has to do with your rugged good looks.” 

Again you smell honest, and he doesn’t know how to answer. Luckily there’s a knock on the door so he doesn’t have to.

A woman comes in, she looks older, about 50 and sits walks around the couch Eskel is on, humming “My name is Maerwynn, I’m the healer. Don’t bother offering your coin, Sir Witcher this is a free session.” She kneels down beside him and unwraps the bandages around his stomach. He tenses, trying not to squirm as someone else tends his wounds. Maybe he should be getting used to it, but it is still foreign.

“Just as I thought, healing well but the cut was deep, you’ll have to stay another day here before you’re moved to the guest bedroom.” She goes about addressing every cut and turns to you.  
“I heal quickly.” Eskel says, as if trying to defend himself.  
She scoffs. “As if I don’t know that. (Y/N) had cleaned out dirt from your wounds not to mention the dried Kikimora blood. If you had not been a witcher I would have had to amputate your leg, too. You will rest.” she turns to you.  
“You’ve done a good job, one of your potions should do, that and some more Swallow.”  
Eskel has grown a bit tired of being confused. “How do you know about Swallow? And witcher healing? You’re practically hidden and (Y/N) has said that a witcher hasn’t been around for a while.”

She purses her lips before looking at you, you glance at the garden.  
“I’m sure Maerwynn can answer later, I need her assistance in the garden for a second.” Eskel furrows his brows but before he can argue you and Maerwynn walk outside.

Both of your voices are low.

“You haven’t told him about Josef. Do you think he’s-”  
“No, I don’t, but Josef never wanted to leave, he hid his face and skipped towns when he smelled other witchers…”  
She considers this. “What do you think, that he was hiding something.”  
“Hiding from, he was always a bit unusual apparently.”  
“According to The Past Elders, yes. So you won’t tell him?”  
“... Maybe if he stays or comes back. But I don’t know.”  
“Alright, as long as he isn’t…”  
“He isn’t. He’s sweet and thoughtful.”  
She smiles “Sounds like a friend.”  
You frown “I barely know him.”  
“Hmm.”

Eskel is not able to overhear much, only picking up that he isn’t dangerous and that the ‘Past Elders’ had information. He doesn’t understand how he isn’t considered dangerous. He has the unnatural yellow eyes, the sharp teeth and the ugly scars. He’s muscle and his voice is threatening. He feels a bit lost, being confirmed as… As safe.

He hears them approaching, your hands hold some flowers and mushrooms and Maerwynns hands hold a strange… Fruit? Vegetables?

“You were asking something?”  
He decides not to press, feeling like he should maybe wait, you’re both still aloof around him, even if you don’t think he’s dangerous.  
“Nevermind.”  
Maerwynn smiles. “In that case I’ll be on my way, make sure he rests and eats. If you need anything, you know where I am.” you nod and put the ingredients away.

__

Later on he wakes up gasping and clutching his side, you rush over to him, there’s clear fear marked in his eyes and you set your hands hover over his shoulders. “Hey, you’re safe, you’re on the couch in my living room and you’re safe.” he looks around rapidly before finally settling down.

“I apologize.”  
“For what?”  
“Causing trouble.”  
You frown. “You aren’t causing trouble, you’re quite alright.” he looks at you, the sun is setting and his golden eyes catch the light in a beautiful way, you steady your breathing.  
“You aren’t a bother, you’re my guest.”

He looks away again.

You both sit in silence before you speak up. “Would you… Like me to tell you a story?”  
He doesn’t speak for a while, looking at the distance and as you berate yourself, about to retract your statement, he nods.  
“Alright. I could tell you about the first time I went to the coast, had an unfortunate run in with some Sirens.”   
He looks over at you, worried.  
“I promise it’s funny and not tragic.”

You talk and you talk until he relaxes, and after dinner you tell him another story, delighting in the way that he smiles when you say something amusing, enjoying his company. He falls asleep to the sound of your voice and you watch him, he looks peaceful like this, younger.

You sigh and head up to your room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking abt maybe hinting at the romance more... But I think I should build up the friendship first


	3. One Step Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yall get closer, he starts talking more, you draw, fluff and domesticity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is a little OOC! Might try to update this again today dk dk

The next day you wake up and find Eskel sitting up on the couch, breathing deeply.

“I’m fine, doesn’t hurt too much.” his voice sounds slightly strained.

You purse your lips and almost say something but he speaks first. “Don’t worry, I just need some food.”

You look at him for a while, not really buying it but not feeling like you have the right to push too much.

“Alright. What would you like?”

He stays silent for a bit before rolling his shoulders and sitting back. “The pudding you made last night was good, if you don’t mind.” you pass in front of him so he can see you smile

“Promise I don’t mind. I’m glad you like my cooking.” He nods, a small twitch of his lips that he gives you sometimes, what you know is a smile. Sometimes… Sometimes they’re more than a twitch, but those disappear so quickly and you can’t help but wonder why. Ever since his energy has come back he’s tried to close off, and it bothers you for some reason.

You talk over breakfast about the books he’s read so far, he finds especially interesting your book on druid practices and the beastiary you have.

“I’ve read it a thousand times but… It’s familiar and it’s interesting to see it written from a non witcher perspective.” His tone is soft, and hesitant, you make a note of looking for more informative books, something entertaining but factual.

The day passes by slowly and he begrudgingly agrees to stay one more day on the couch. “I just want to make sure they’re healed.” He nods tensely. 

You sigh and go over to his side and sit next to him. He looks away, as if trying to hide his face, you see his hand lift to rub at his scars. 

“It’s not bad to need help. And you killed a lot of monsters, some kids went to see the monsters and told us there were 8 or 7. The fact that you survived enough to limp away is beyond impressive.”

“That’s what witcher is supposed to do.”

“A witcher is supposed to kill monsters, how can you do that if you die?”

He doesn’t answer.

You exchange soft goodnights,

__

You wake up early the next day, it was one of those days where you started to feel stir crazy, but it’s dulled somehow, maybe by Eskels presence. The thought scares you slightly.

You see him trying to stand on shaky legs and he collapses, luckily you make it over to catch him.

  
“Eskel, you can’t keep doing this.” You try to school your voice, not wanting to sound angry.

He purses his lip and his hand rubs at this scar again, why do you find that endearing?

“I know.”

“Then why?”

“I don’t… I’m-”

“Injured? In need of recovery? Deserving of a break?”

His jaw clenches slightly.

A silence hangs in the air. You think of the day before, about his glances at the window, about his fidgety hands and abandoned book. “I could help you walk around the house, give you a tour.”

He turns to look at you, kind of surprised, warmth and shame blooming inside him. “You don’t have to.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”

“You aren’t.”

“I’m sure you’re bu-”

“How about this, I give you a tour and you tell me about a monster hunt, one in a city.” You want to help him, you enjoy his company, but it’s also true that you feel the creeping sensation of being trapped for a decade flare up, and this might help.

He stares at you.

“You can think of it as payment, if you want.” Your smile amused yet sad. Why sad? He feels like he understands your motives yet he doesn’t understand a thing about your behavior. The offer though… Finally moving alone. It’s been three days conscious but it feels like so many more.

“Okay.”

Your smile widens. “Perfect, eating first?” he nods. As you sit him down he squeezes your wrist softly, wanting you to stay longer. He murmurs a soft thank you, wishing he had more words to convey his relief at finally being able to move more, but terrified of voicing it outloud.

“It’s not a problem.”

__

Helping him find his balance thales a while, his leg still hurting, but once you find it it’s somewhat smooth sailing. His arm is around your shoulder and yours is around his waist. Your faces are close and you try to ignore it.

“Where to first, oh mighty witcher” You ask, trying to get one of his soft smiles. It works. The only thing that bothers you is that they never last for long, as if he remembers he shouldn’t.

“How about the garden? Lil Bleater loves it.” You nod and carefully both of you make your way towards it, it’s starting to bloom slowly, Spring starting to turn into summer.

He looks around, a glint in his eye as he takes it in, it’s bigger than he thought, full of herbs and vegetables, fruit trees standing tall. Lil Bleater is lying down next to Marmalade, who perks up at seeing both of you. She approaches slowly before sniffing him carefully and he  _ swears _ that she somehow gives him a knowing yet disappointed look. She then collects some herbs in her mouth and takes them inside.

“How…”

“Oh, I thought you knew? She’s my Familiar.”

“Wait you’re a druid.”

You try your best not to laugh, but your amusement is clear on your face. “Yes, Eskel”

“Well… that explains a bit.”

“Why did you think I had a druid book? And vast knowledge on Chaos?”

“Curiosity? This whole town seems to know the beastiary and potions despite there not being a witcher, I thought…”

Your smile softens slightly, “I suppose that’s understandable.”

After making your way around the garden, picking out a ripe fruit from a tree that seemed to bloom early, you both head inside, you show him around the kitchen, where the spices are, where the meat is stored, etc. “Feel free to use it when you can.” he nods.

“I’m sure the living room doesn’t need a tour.”

He snorts “I know it well enough.”

You take him through the hallways to a small library, he looks around curiously, there is a spot on the wall that was clearly occupied by a painting, on both sides there are paintings of griffins, One clearly older and scarred, the other younger but still powerful. He wonders why it’s there, wonders why your gaze avoids it.

He doesn’t comment though, starting to feel tired.

You walk him through the library, showing him how they’re organized and he says, quite frankly, a bad pun. You laugh, and say one back

After you show him the order of organization, you lead him down to the rooms, he misses the portrait of you holding a silver sword at the age of twelve, goofy smile on your face and an ill fitting shirt.

“And this is your room.” 

He lets out a somewhat relieved sigh, the room is big, with a desk and a drawer, a small couch in the corner and a large bed.

“Tired?” you ask

“A bit.”

“Let’s lie you down then, you should sleep.”

“Not that tired.”

“Sure, you still need to lie down.”

“... Alright. Please wake me up for dinner.”

“Of course.”

You leave him too it and find yourself in the library again, staring at the empty space where your dad's portrait used to be. You close the door and pull up a chair to sit down in front of it, pulling your medallion out and holding it in your hands.

“I miss you.”

___

Dinner goes well, Eskel cracking some frankly bad puns about his brothers. “I love lambert but really, he loves goat-ing people into fights too much”

You snort at them, and his smile grows a little bit before quickly turning neutral. You furrow your brows.

You both say goodnight, earlier than yesterday and you go to your room.

__

You can’t sleep, staring up at the ceiling with the heavy weight of the medallion on your chest. Sometimes it feels like it’s burning your skin, hurting you. Sometimes it feels suffocating, but you can never bring yourself to taking it off.

__

You barely sleep, waking up much too early, you try to distract yourself and end up in front of the guest room, waiting for who knows what.

He can hear your heartbeat outside his door and smell a soft scent of sorrow, he sits up and thinks for a bit, devising a plan of sorts. Maybe “plan” is a generous description.

He clears his throat. “You can come in” He hears your heart stop for a moment before you sheepishly walk in, before you can give an excuse he says “Want to hear about a hunt I had with Geralt? He ended up with blue hair for a week.”

You smile at him gratefully. “Okay.”

__

You take him outside to the garden again, your tending to it while he reads your book on poison and venomous animals and how to treat them. Later you sit down next to him to draw and he offers to read to you again.

__

The rest of the week follows a similar pattern, though sometimes you have to go out to the village, he sleeps when you do. He becomes more familiar with Marmalade and the first time she sits on his lap his eyes light up as he runs his hands through her fur.

He starts to be able to walk by himself, though wobbly, he walks through the house with ease.

You two are becoming more familiar, he no longer offers to read, simply starting when he hears the sound of pencil on paper. Each time, you smile.

One day he asks to see your drawings, you have two sketchbooks, luckily this is not the one with sketchings of him.

He looks through your drawings, some of Lil Bleater and Marmalade, some of your garden, some of his swords in interesting lighting, some of the towns people as they walk. He looks in awe carefully studying each one.

“They’re beautiful.”

__

You keep noticing that when he smiles he quickly stops. You can’t help by feeling bothered by that, you’re in the middle of telling a joke, one you hope that might get him to laugh when there’s a knock on the door.

“Must be Maerwynn.” He comments.

“Come in!” There's really no reason to lock the doors during the day. She enters and looks at both of you, sitting next to each other on the dinner table. She raises an eyebrow and humms.

“How are you doing, Sir Eskel.”

He stands up slowly feeling as though he has to show proof of his recovery. “Doing better.”

She smiles “I’m glad to see it, though you should not strain yourself. By the end of the week you should be completely healed.”

“Do you want to stay for dinner?”

She smiles wryly. “Thank you, but I do not wish to interrupt.”

You’re both confused at her words as she leaves, chuckling softly. 

You turn to him and he shrugs.

__

Two days later you don’t sleep well, jolting up from a nightmare the smell of blood somehow in the air and your throat raw; you look out the window and see it’s before dawn. Your hands are still shaking from the nightmare and you’re still gripped by residual fear.

You walk slowly down the hall tensing when you see the portrait of your young self. You reach the kitchen, candle in hand.

“What’s wrong, what’s happening” you jump at the sound of Eskels voice not expecting him to be up and suddenly notice the smell of eggs. You look at him, and see the way his golden eyes reflect the candle light. It’s… Beautiful.

“Nothing wrong, sorry.”

He frowns, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “You smell like fear.”

He notices you opening and clenching your hand looking away to avoid eye contact. He worries, the smell of fear on you being somewhat foreign and distressing.

“(Y/N)...”

You sigh “It’s silly, just a dumb nightmare.”

He looks at you for a moment before moving closer to you. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Do you… Want to hear about how I got Scorpion while I make breakfast?” you don’t answer for a moment and he berates himself. Of course you wouldn't want that, he’s about to retract his statement when you look at him. The stench of fear ebbing away and being replaced with something else.

“Okay” your voice is soft. He almost lets himself smile widely.


	4. Paths and Trails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He gets better, and soon he leaves... But not forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo!! I wanted to get this chapter kind f out of the way because now we get to see t them grow CLOSE as he comes back year after year and maybe... Discovers some things.

The first week has ended and the second week is two days is. You’re both sitting on the front porch facing the forest, Eskel hasn’t said anything in a while, watching Lil Bleater rest. He joined you a while ago when you came out here to make some 

potions and practice your runes. It feels easier out here, closer to the forest but not in too much danger. You glance over at him again, he seems lost in thought, occasionally humming. 

You’re facing his scared side and you try not to stare but his scars look like lightning bolts and his lip is slightly upturned, when he mutters something you catch a glimpse of his fangs and feel warm all over. You manage to look away. You hear a sigh as you practice your runes, you hear him turn towards you and you give him an amused look. This was the third time he turned to look at you.

“Yes?”

“I think I’m ready to leave.” He sounds regretful.

You eye him for a moment “No you aren’t.” You try to avoid sounding rude, given his expression it may have worked.

He says your name, a bit frustrated. He doesn’t necessarily  _ want _ to leave… and if you insist enough he’d probably cave and stay two more weeks. He tried to put his foot down on this. “I don’t get exhausted when I walk around the house anymore, my stomach doesn’t hurt and I helped out in the garden yesterday.

You give him a look and he knows you’re thinking about how he went a little light headed after that, but he tries to ignore it.

“I’m not human I-”   
“Heal faster?”

You sigh and look pensive and he regrets for a moment bringing it up.

“How about this: We go walk through the town and if you can walk through the entire town and back without getting lightheaded… Then” your voice softens, “You can leave, though I’d ask you to stay one more day.”

He swallows and knows he won’t argue this even if everything he’s been taught that he should.   
“And if I don’t I say and rest until the end of the week.” The smile you give him is beautiful.

__   
  


“I was thinking we could pass by the artisans shop first, I commissioned a small carving.” You say to him as you walk down the path to the town. Your cottage is a bit far away, closer to the forest than anyone else. The risk is higher but you’re a druid and you want to be closest to your source of magic.

“We should also pass by Maerwynn.”

He hmms “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

You laugh, she had passed by the day before and berated him about working in the garden. She had also inspected him and declared quite sternly that he needs to eat more. You never thought you’d see a witcher look bashful again.

“We could also pass by the tavern.”

“Do they have good ale?”

“The best.”

_

The walk around town starts well, polite chatting with the artist as he wraps the wooden griffyn up. A wooden Gryffin Eskel didn’t get to see well, but there was a sign on its chest that he found curious. They passed through the town, saying hi to a few families

He was thanked by a few towns folk and even stopped by an elf/human family to express gratitude. He didn’t know how to react, giving awkward smiles and small “you're welcome”s.

He sees you smiling at him and he gives a small smile back. You take him around the town, and pass a small garden with a big tree in the middle, it has a metal fence surrounding it and a couple standing next to it, they reek of grief. You follow his line of sight and tense, taking him to the tavern in hopes that he won’t ask anything.

He looks at you curiously but doesn’t ask, smelling your distress and deciding it isn’t worth it. When you both walk into the tavern Eskel is greeted with wide smiles and friendly barmaid.

“Sir Witcher! It’s lovely to see you, we were worried for you. Please sit down, ail and food is on the house!”

The food is delicious, and the ail is good but he can’t mask the fact that he’s getting very tired. The warm food doesn’t really help. You notice this, his eyes drooping slightly and his eyes furrow a bit, trying to concentrate on staying awake. You sigh. Once you both finish your food, turning away the third free round of ail, “Thank you so much Ayleth, but he has to rest” “Oh! Of course, rest well, Sir Eskel!”, they start walking back.

“Want to stop at the bakers.”

“Hm?”

You look at him, he’s starting to look dead on his feet and you sigh.

“Let’s get to the trail and I’ll carry you back to the cottage, yeah?”

He can’t find it within himself to argue, especially not when you carry him bridal style.

__

You set him down on the chait near the door because really, you’re strongbut you have your limits. And after a cup of water you help him back to his room.

“So?”

He huffs, a small laugh, “I’ll stay till the end of the week.”

__

You’re sitting up in your bed, staring at the door, and you’re exhausted. You just woke up from a particularly vivid nightmare, not unusual but unpleasant all the same. You feel like your skin is itchy and the only comfort is that you aren’t as stir crazy as you usually are. There was something grounding about knowing someone else was in the house. About knowing Eskel was down the hall, and the walks around town you’ve been having don’t drive you insane like they did when you were alone.

He’s leaving soon and you don’t know what to do.

__

Eskel and you are walking through the town, again, this time on your way to the pastry shop. Marmalade and Lil Bleater following behind you two. He’s in the middle of telling you about a monster hunt against a royal griffyn when you both pass by the small garden, the heavy scent of grief momentarily distracting him.

It’s a teenager and their mother this time, holding each other as the mother whispers something gente to them.

“Eskel?”

“Sorry, I got distracted… What’s that garden?”

You follow his line of sight and tense. “It’s… It’s complicated.” You say softly. The stench of grief and pain on you distresses him too much to press.

As you enter the pastry shop you’re greeted by the baker’s daughter, a sweet 7 year old elf with too much energy and a lot of enthusiasm.

“Sir Eskel!! I asked mom if you were coming today but she said you didn’t know and that you said you  _ might _ come by but you weren’t sure and  _ I _ told her that that HAD to be a yes, because I wanted you to try the first pie I bake!! Would you like to try it?? It’s an old Elf recipe and it’s oh so very good, I promise!!”

Eskel snorts, the garden momentarily forgotten and he crouches down to greet her “I’d love to try your pie.” He partially came to visit the girl, she had taken one look at his scar and decided he was cool. It was an awfully nice change of pace.

The day passed by, eating pie and chatting. When you both walk back to the house he helps you pick out a few herbs and you make dinner together.

“Are you sure I cant interest you in some pepper?”

“I’m afraid my witcher senses would kill me.”

Your laugh sounds like a melody to him.

You both sit across from each other, silence filling up the empty space, and both refuse to talk about the inevitable, so instead you look up at the witcher in front of you, golden eyes and soft, small smile and you say “What if we had a picnic tomorrow? I know a great place.”

He looks up at you, joy filling his eyes.

“I’d love to.”

__

The day is warm.

“You know, this is the longest we’ve gone without a monster for a while” Your voice is easy.

“Really?” He arches an eyebrow.

“Really! Normally me and the blacksmith have to go out there every few days to keep the drowners down, maybe get a kikimora in the process.”

“Wow, sounds rough.”

You hmm noncommittally. “It’s how it’s always been, we’re all really glad you found us.”

“... I-”

“You can always visit. The path is open to you.”

He nods, understanding, and you go back to idle chatter.

You tell him about the local painter, a reclusive woman who barely comes out, she’s strange but sweet and will leave paintings by sidewalks with peoples names on a note. He listens intently and decides visiting would be a wonderful idea.

__

The day before comes and you can’t stop pacing in your room, he never conformed that he’d visit, he just.. “Hmm”ed. But your dad did that a bit too, so it may be a witcher thing. You know that he should be leaving today but… The Tavern wants to throw a party of sorts and you offered him a place to sleep afterwards, just one more night.

_ “It wouldn’t be imposing, if I’m  _ offering _ ,Eskel.” your smile was teasing as you lightly punches his shoulder. _

_ He practically pouted at that “As long as you’re sure about it.” _

_ “You’re infuriating, yes I’m sure.” _

And now you were to leave to said tavern soon… Fuck. You weren’t really close to the townspeople anymore, keeping to yourself after… Well. And now you were growing close to someone, to a witcher. Of course it had to be a witcher. You laugh a little hysterically to yourself.

Eskel calls your name “Are you ready? Is everything okay?”

But how could you not grow attached to a man like that. “Coming!”

The walk over is quiet, both of you basking in each others presence. He’s trying not to be obvious about smelling you, your smell calms him, it’s grounding and welcoming. The best part is you’ve never smelled scared of  _ him _ disgusted by  _ him _ , in fact, you’ve smelled happier the longer he was there.

He doesn’t know what to do with that, with… With friendship. He supposes. He has his brothers, but it’s different, they’re his  _ brothers _ , he loves them dearly, but he never got to choose them and he never got to choose how they met him. Here… Well he could’ve said no to the festival, he could have asked to be taken to the healer… he didn’t have to help out with the herbs or read while you drew or walk through the town. It was… It was nice.

You both make it and are greeted warmly by the tavern, they no longer smell of even residual fear. The bard bursts into some silly song everyone seems to know, people dancing in a circle in the middle and he’s given free ail at the entrance.

When the food is given up there’s a grand toast done.

“To Sir Witcher Eskel! May he grace us with presence again!” “To Sir Witcher Eskel!” the tavern responds.

The elf girl pulls both of you into the circle dance while giggling. And so you dance, and you dance until the tavern closes and both of your feet ache, and he walks back with a real smile on his face.

__

You wake up early to make him breakfast, partially as a goodbye and partially to start getting used to making it alone again. He comes down almost fully dressed and thanks you. You both sit next to each other on the porch as you eat.

“So…”

“So.”

“You’ll be leaving today.”

“I have to.”

“I know you do.”

Eskel sighs and says your name “I… I was thinking about what you said.”

“Yes?”

“Well… I would only be able to visit when I come and go from Kaer Morhen, twice a y-”

“What are you talking about? You can visit whenever.”

“No, I can’t where you are-”

“Eskel, this town always has monsters from Gryffins to  _ drowners _ . To very different kinds of monsters from different regions, the path to us opens up to specific people… Do you think we stay in the same place?”

“Well…”

“You will find us when you need to… And if you want to.” You place your hand on the porch.

His hand comes to rest next to yours. “I… I think I want to.” You turn to look at each other, and he gives you a smile, a real smile. You feel the air leave your lungs, and you stare.

“Good.”

You help him prepare Scorpion and lead him to the exit. “I’ll… I’ll visit.”

“Good, there’s always a contract here.”

His lips twitch up. “So I’ve heard.”

__

Going back to villaigers spitting on you and throwing fruit after landing in your little town is a bit… Jarring for Eskel, he gets stiffed and insulted. At least it wasn’t as bad as before, before Geralt found that Bard of his. Some towns tolerate him, if he’s lucky they won’t even smell that badly of fear. But he still misses you and your town, he hopes he’ll find the path again.

__

Currently, your pacing throughout your whole house, you feel like you’ll go insane, the loneliness and cabin fever creeping in fast. Staying in one place for a decade when you were always such a free travelling soul… it doesn things, especially when you stay in the home of a dead man. You end up kneeling on the floor and taking deep breaths and clutching the medallion you usually keeo under your chemise. You hope so badly for Eskel to come back… Summer is almost over.

__

It happens on an exceptionally bad day, it’s pouring as soon as he finishes the contract, they only pay him half and they refuse him lodging. He sighs, clenching his jaw before trying to speak.

“You’re lucky we don’t kill you here, beast.”

He gives a curt nod and leaves, he can smell the disgust as they eyed his scar, he knew when he wasn’t wanted. He carefully tucks Lil Bleater in his shirt. He goes to pick up scorpion and hit the trail, Scorpion is not happy with this. “I know, but we have to.” Lil Bleater Baas at him “I know, but it isn’t my fault!”

He sighs, the cold from the rain and his empty stomach lasted two more when he saw the path, clearly marked in stone and dry, he almost laughs when he saw it. He spots the mage next to it and gave a nod in thanks. In turn she gave him an unnerving grin and vanished.

As Scorpion walks into town he sees you, coming back from the butchers, you spot him and smile brightly. As you go to greet him, he gets down from his horse. Once you reach each other he grabs your shoulders firmly.

“So… I’ve heard you have a contract?”

You laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! And if there's anything you'd like to see! tumblr: whatareyouac0p and twitter: Wanted4Treas0n


	5. Cabin Fever And Flower Crowns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I come baring fluff and angst!

The contract is 2 Manticore (they made sure, he’s worried about how they made sure) and you offer for him to stay at your place again.

“I-”  
“If you say you don’t want to bother me or inconvenience me I’ll throttle you.” your voice is light, he smiles and agrees.

He leaves Lil Bleater and Scorpion with you, deciding to meditate before going on his hunt. His calm expression, relaxed features… Make him look at peace. He’s quite beautiful like this. You find a small smile tugging at your lips.

  
He finishes meditating and finds you watching, to turn away quickly, blushing, he feels himself smiling softly. He reaches out to touch you and decides not to at the last moment, you try to push down your disappointment.

“I’ll be back soon.”  
“Okay, any preference on dinner?”  
“Whatever you’d like” he says, not wanting to impose. You realize this and restrain yourself from rolling your eyes.  
“Alright, stay safe.” your voice softens.  
“I’ll try my best."

__

He walks through the first, downing his Cat, waiting for the effects and looking for the manticore. He thinks about staying for a few days, there will probably be more monsters… And he has a nice place to stay. He knows he can’t stay forever but thought is… Tempting.

He hears movement and snaps out of his thoughts, twirling his sword and turning around to find both manticore. He charges.

__

You’re preparing some potions and collecting ingredients that Maerwynn asked for. The sun is setting and you try not to worry, he knows what he's doing, just as you’re about to get antsy there’s a knock on the door, you open it to find him, he has a cut on his arm that seems to have stopped bleeding and you give him a relieved smile.

“Let’s patch you up.”  
“You don’t have to…”  
“Hmm, but I want to.”

He sighs and gives in easily, a small smile already forming on his face. As you apply the ointment and bandages he keeps eyeing you, you look more restless than the last time he was you, bags under your eyes, you smell happy but there’s an undertone of anxiety. He's about to ask when you look up at him, an indecipherable look passing over your face.

“Tell me about your latest contracts. Anything interesting?” You look a little desperate, and the smell of anxiety grows a little. He hates it, so he nods.  
“Well… There was a griffin contract a few towns back that ended up being nothing _close_ to a griffin…”

The night continues like that, he gives you stories interspersed with bad jokes that make you laugh every time. You both end up on the couch, sitting close to each other, almost touching until he yawns, you see he fangs and feel yourself flush a little and clear your throat.

“Well, I guess we should go to sleep.”  
“Guess we should.” His tired eyes land on you, he smiles, a soft thing, beautiful.

“How long will you stay?”  
“There’s another contract, right?”

“Yes.”  
“Maybe… A few more days.”

You smile brightly at him and feel something blossom in you that you haven’t ever really felt.

__

The next days pass similarly, one day you both ending up at the tavern, hearing the local bard sing about magic and love and monsters.  
“Kids good, almost as good as Jaskier.”

“Who?”  
“The White Wolf's bard?”  
“White Wolf?”

Amusement flickers in his eyes as he talks about his apparently very very dumb brother and his equally ridiculous bard, you laugh as he says that they’re both somewhat hopeless. 

The next you pass by the elven pastry shop and play with the elven girl for a while before passing by the artisan tents. He buys a small carving of a griffin, which seems to be very popular in the town for some reason. He spots a colorful painting, one of a witcher, fangs and all… But it looks happy and colorful and bright.

“Look.” you say softly, when he turns around he sees what he assumes is the painter flip you both off and vanish.  
“Weird…”  
“Yup. Help me carry it to the cottage?”

The final day he doesn’t take a contract, instead spending all day in the town, saying goodbye at the tavern and taking his leave. Before he does you grab his hand and give it a light squeeze. “Stay safe out there… And visit again, soon.”

He smiles at you. “I’ll try my best.”

__

The next few months are long, but once in a while, he takes out the small griffin, and rubs his thumb over it, letting himself smile wide.

When autumn rolls in he enters the town again, feeling warm at the sight of the path. The town is bright with color, wearing orange to imitate the falling leaves. He can only stay two days, but they’re full of joy. Both of you deciding to picnic, you path up his wounds and he helps you with potions. You both end up helping one of the town elders whose roof has a leak.

“You seem to know a lot about this.”  
“We have to patch up Kaer Morhen every year when we go back.”  
“... Tell me about Kaer Morhen?”

He looks at you intently “Alright.”

The night before he leaves he sees you drawing something with a smile on your face and your cheeks slightly darker.

__

It seems the shorter the visits the shorter the time between the visits, he loves it, each time he passes through, but as winter draws near he knows he can’t afford it anymore, he has to go back.

You bite your lip as he tells you this, you think about offering him to stay, but he always gets a wistful look in his golden eyes when he talks about Kaer Morhen, so you think it’d be better not to.

“Well, you’re going to have to tell me what ridiculous pranks you get up to this year when you visit again. Because if you don’t I’ll make sure Marmalade tackles you.”  
He laughs, really laughs, brightly, his teeth peaking through, and you think it’s the most beautiful sight in the world. 

“I will. And you better tell me if you have any winter festivals here.”  
“I will, I’ll tell you all about them.”

When he goes to leave you give him a quick hug. “Be safe.”

He nods, he feels his cheeks warming and his stomach flip. “I’ll try my best.”

__

Winter is always the hardest, always the worst and most painful. You feel yourself get antsy, the need to _move_ coming back, you walk the town and the edged of the first every fucking day. You explore the abandoned buildings (Having a brief run in with the local vampire and almost killing him. You apologize profusely and bring him some pigs blood the next day. He pouts like a child.), you go through every business, you visit the blacksmith for no reason, already having gotten blades earlier on, not like you need them, you have plenty. It gets worse when the snow comes in heavy, when no one can leave their houses, that’s when it consumes you.

You long to travel, it consumes you sometimes. You _know_ that if you had traveled in the year you wouldn’t be in this state, and Eskel… Eskel with his calming presence and beautiful voice, with his golden eyes and bright smile could only help so much. Even with his stories of the outside… He cannot fix the problem. And there is a problem, isn’t there? You’re an animal in a cage, but you chose this cage. You’d rather this, you’d rather suffer the winters insanity than travel the world that killed your father, the world that would kill the sweet girl from the pastry shop, Alma, simply for being an elf. The world that treats kind souls like Eskel like shit for being different. You refuse, you refuse.

And so you let yourself go half insane until spring comes and hope desperately that Eskel is there as soon as the flowers bloom. Your only comfort is the soft, warm company of Marmalade curled up next to you.

__

Eskel practically runs to Scorpion as soon as the snow clears, refusing to answer his brother's questions, they had been bothering him all winter, claiming him to be lovesick. It was a miracle that they hadn’t seen the small wooden carving. He isn't ashamed, but he wants to keep the town for himself, just a little longer.

It wouldn’t do any harm, right? And really… It wasn’t too selfish, sure they liked one witcher, but maybe two was too much for them. That’s what he tells himself.

He glares at the jab that he had finally found someone to settle down with and make an ‘honest man’ of him. You are… Not that. He knew it, even if you didn’t leave the town he could tell that you were a traveler, and he wants to ask why you don’t leave. That’s probably what he’ll do when he goes into the town again, maybe after hugging you… He really wants to hug you, he hasn’t stopped thinking about it.

“Ooh, lover boys hurrying off again. Going to propose your true love?” Lambert's voice calls out.  
“He’ll probably read poetry to them.” Geralt adds, a smirk on his face. 

Eskel snorts “Both of you _would_ know about romance, wouldn’t you? What with your sweet Cat and Bard”

Both his brothers glare at him, and Eskel rides off laughing.

__

It’s been two months, which isn’t a lot, but he’s getting irritated, he looks and looks and finally, one night with the full moon he sees the path and sags with relief. Lil Bleater seems to cry out in joy too as they enter the bath, both seeing beautiful lanterns floating around. The town seems alive, with a bonfire right in the middle of it, and lanterns hung on every building and tent.

He dismounts from his horse and puts Lil Bleater on the ground. Alma runs to him with a bright smile on her face, her hair pulled back into a braid showing off her ears. “Sir Eskel! Sir Eskel!! You’ve arrived _just_ in time for the end of spring festival!” She hugs him and he picks her up, already knowing she’d just climb up if he didn’t

“Is that so?”  
“Yes! And it is also my birthday! I am 8 now!”

“8 years old?” He asks, smiling  
“Yes!”

“Well that is a _big_ age, congratulations!”  
“Thank you!! OH! Y/N will be _so_ happy to see you!! They’ve set up all the flowers and them, my mother, the blacksmith and the carver are helping!” she practically leaps out of his arms and grabs him by the hand dragging him towards you all.

“Don’t worry! Markus will take care of Mr. Scorpion!” She says, brimming with excitement.

The stable boy, Markus, nods at Eskel. “It’s good to see you again, Sir Witcher!”  
  


As he’s dragged through the town you spot him and smile brightly, you get up and hug him, he hugs back tightly, smiling.

He says your name softly. “It’s good to see you again.”

“You too, Sir Witcher” you say teasingly “thought you had disappeared on us.”  
“No, not planning on doing that.”  
You give him a meaningful look “Good.”

Lil Bleater, having been found by the children, baas up at both of you. She has a flower crown on her head, over her horns, and a small one on her tail.  
“Well, nice to see that the kids are good at flower crowns.”

You snort “It is.” You look at him for a while longer, both of you still close to each other, the lamps making his eyes glow. You clear your throat.   
“Would you like a flower crown?”

“I… Would love one.”

The festival is brimming with life, everyone is out and about throughout the town, even the local vampire, Tiphanee. He waves at Eskel. He was a weird guy, Eskel had almost killed him once but was informed he was peaceful and really only drank pig, fish and occasionally drowner blood.

_“The flavor… it’s better. Also it doesn’t make me feel bad.”_

“Eskel! You’ve _got_ to try the skewers. How are you, by the way? Did the town I tell you about give you any problems?”  
“No, very friendly, but you were right they don’t like having new people around for too long… Practically kicked out the bard that was visiting.”

“Yeah they’re...Weird. I mean I guess if you have frequent Bruxa problems then… It makes sense”  
“Hmm.”

You both walk around some more, bumping into the weird painter who looks at Eskel right in the eyes and nods. “Don’t be a pussy about this.” He blinks in confusion and you shrug. After that you braid a few flowers into his short hair and he manages to make you a somewhat sloppy flower crown, you both smile at each other like fools.

The festival carries on into the night, him being greeted by the town and taken to see all the artisan works and food. Towards the end you drag him into the dancing ring around the bonfire and watch him glow in the light. You look away and miss how he looks at you, watching your hair catch the light, seeing how it softens your features.

__

He ends up sleeping at your house again, seeming like that will be the standard for when he visits and you don’t mind. You don’t mind at _all_.

__

The next morning the festival is coming to an end but not quite over, there is a performance at the town square and free mead is handed out. He doesn’t want to leave, he knows he should go looking for more contracts but he can’t bring himself too. You notice this and so later on when you’re both on the couch, you drawing and him sharpening his sword you make it easy for him, and tell him about the drowners that are in the forest. He nods, relaxing.

“Thank you.”

You fall asleep to the sound of him sharpening his sword and he tucks you in. As he makes it into his the guest room, blushing slightly, thinking about your smile; Lil Bleater jumps on him and gets right in his face baaing. He sighs “Yeah, yeah…” I know.

__

He stays two more days, the Path calling him and you nod sadly, understanding, really understanding. You both hug again, a bit reluctant to let god. It’s only been a year how… Is he having this effect on you?

__

He comes back again, 2 weeks after the mid summer festival, already off of Scorpion walking behind Lil Bleater, who baas happily as Marmalade runs up to her. He’s a bit bruised from his last contract, because that’s really what he’s bruised for these days, the stonings are less and less frequent thanks to Jaskier.

“Hey there,” you look him up and down, noticing he's limping slightly. “You seem… worse for wear.” You go over and put an arm under his shoulder, let’s go. You take his horse to your stable, instead of the town's one, not really an uncommon occurrence. You treat the cut on his side and stitch it up, he protests half heartedly the whole time and you threaten to call Maerwynn. After his last major injury she gave him the scolding of a lifetime and he’s been scared since.

Once you finish you both sit in the garden, a strange form of cabin fever has been creeping up on you and you can't stand to stay inside.

Your telling him about the ridiculous pranks the older kids have been starting to pull and he tells you about the stupid things his brothers have done. He starts talking about his contracts and about the ridiculous stories he’s heard in Jaskiers songs that have spread through the Continent. You get a distant look in your eye and he looks at you intently.

“Why don’t you ever travel?”  
“Hm?”  
“Why don’t you go through the Continent? You seem like you want to.”

You look away, and purse your lips “What ever gave you _that_ idea?”  
“Your paintings, the way you always ask about the outside world… The look in your eye when the bard came back singing Jaskiers songs. I’ve seen you looking at the town's exit sometimes.”

You sigh. “It’s… It’s complicated.”  
“Are you scared?”  
“Ha! No, I can handle myself.” You grab a fistfull of grass.  
“Then what is it?” He asks softly, you turn to look at him, those sunshine yellow slitted eyes filled with concern.  
“I… I can’t leave.”  
“Why not?”  
“I just. I”

He says your name softly moving closer to you and you look away again, shrinking into yourself slightly

“Eskel. I-I don’t want to talk about this. Please.”  
He looks at you for a bit longer before pulling back. “Of course, I’m sorry.”  
“It’s fine.”

You both sit in silence until you let out a breath. “Would you… Like to go to the lake?”

He looks at you in confusion “Lake?”

“Shit, you haven’t been here for that… Sometimes a lake just kind of… Pops up near the other edge of the town. It’s not dangerous or anything, just.. Inconsistent.”

He hmms “Alright.” You stand up and offer him a hand, he takes it and neither of you let go until you reach the town. He wants to know more about you, wants to know why you can’t leave… But he won’t push, not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking abotu mentioning the other witchers more, and maybe throwing in Jaskier...😏


	6. A Warmer Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! College caught up to me, I hope you enjoy this chapter <3

You are leaning against a wall, or… You open your eyes, you are lying on the floor. You’ve been practicing your magic all day and you decided to take a break when it happens. It tends to happen randomly, but it hasn't happened in so long… it only makes sense that you hadn’t seen it coming. Your eyes brimming with tears and your throat still raw from weeping and screaming. Images your father's body in a meadow of flowers, images of Ryia’s eyes, cold and lifeless in an open casket. All you can do lie down and sob, cry for what you’ve lost.

You lie there for a while after you finish crying and decide to sleep for the rest of the day, desperately hoping that your dreams won’t be haunted by those you loved.

__

Eskel is coming back from a contract, exhausted and a bit cranky, not that he can show that given what he is and how people react to his scar. He plasters on a small smile and shows the proof of the hunt, the innkeeper looks him up and down wearily he prepares for the usual contempt, to be told there “aren’t rooms left” but before the innkeeper can say anything a woman steps out and glares at him before turning to Eskel.

“We’ve got a room ready for yeah, part off.” She hands him a pouch of coin and when he looks inside it’s the promised price. He gives her a tiny smile and a nod.   
“Thank you, Ma’am.”

She snorts “Your welcome, Witcher.” He goes up to the room with Lil Bleater and sits down on the bed, grateful to sleep on a bed. It isn’t nearly as comfortable as the one in your house and he finds himself thinking about you.   
There’s a small warmth in his heart and his stomach flips. He tries to ignore it, you’re friends and he wouldn’t risk that. He takes off his shoes and lies back down, falling asleep.

The next day he heads to the market, testing his luck and finds his mind wandering to the little town that’s made him feel warmer than even Kaer Morhen at times. He runs a hand over his face and decides to hit the road again. Traveling for weeks, camping out. He finally lets himself fully miss your town when he sees the Mage, she was strange, appearing randomly. Her teeth sharp and her eyes glowing she motions you over. The first time she did that he had pulled out his sword only for her to laugh and point to the path.

This time he knew what she was, a strange blessing of sorts. Of course, not free. He pulls out the fruit she had asked for and she gives a nod.

“Will you hoard this to yourself, Eskel?”

He hesitates and she grins.   
“Have fun, boy.”

He tries to quell his uneasiness and him, Scorpion and Lil Bleater walk into the path, finally feeling somewhat at peace for the first time in two months.

___   
  


You’re coming back from collecting herbs and mushrooms with Marmalade when you see him, looking around and fidgeting, waiting for you. You can’t help it, your face breaks out into a smile.

“Eskel!” he turns to you, his smile mirroring you and you sweep each other into a hug. You rest your head on his shoulder and he does the same. After a while you both part, blushing slightly.

You open the door and turn to him, “Well, come in. I just need to put away these herbs.” He nods as he heads inside, setting his things down in a corner like he’s learned to do. You know he won’t stay long, Autumn already turning into winter, but you can’t help but hope, just slightly.

You both end up sitting on the couch, close to each other, talking about nothing and falling into comfortable silence until the sun sets.

His voice is soft and quiet “I have a contract tomorrow, I have to leave soon but I was wondering if.. If I could stay the day after.”

You lean towards him slightly “Of course you can, We’re friends.” He smiles, a small thing.

“Thank you.”

__

Knowing that you’re across from each other, you both sleep better than you have in a long time.

__

The next day you spend the day by the lake, watching the strange, bright fish swim around as the ducks try to grab them. Not quite touches but sitting close to each other. 

“So you have no idea what they are?”   
“Nope, but that’s just how many things are around here. I’ve tried to figure it out, but there’s no chaos in the area or at least, there only is when the path opens.”

“Hmm, are you sure?” He turns to you with a curious look.

You give him an amused look. “I’m quite sure my m-” you blink “powers haven’t sensed anything.”

He knows it’s a half truth and notices a chain only visible on your neck and wonders. But he doesn’t push, after all, he’s keeping secrets as well.   
“You’ll figure it out, you're smart.”

You blush slightly and smile at him. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, Sir Witcher”

He huffs out a laugh.

When he goes out to hunt he’s careful, he’s been starting to be careful in a way that he hasn’t been in a while.

__

He gets back to you asleep, sketchbook on your lap, he peeks to find drawings of a sword floating amongst a forest full of creatures that don’t exist. He smiles. Setting aside your art supplies, scooping you up and tucking you into your bed. He brushes your hair out of your face, allowing himself to smile wider than he usually does before heading out of the room and closing it behind him.

___

When he leaves the next day you pull him into a tight hug, he hugs you right back, taking in your smell, trying to memorize it for when he’s in Kaer Morhen, knowing he won’t be able to see you for entirely too long.

He leaves the path, having taken him close to Kaer Morhen, he looks back at where it was, a wistful look in his eyes.

You stare at where it used to be, the same look in your eyes.

___

He’s the first to arrive, Vesemir pulls him into a short hug and gives Eskel a knowing look. “It’s good to see you well, pup.”

  
When his brothers arrive he accepts the teasing, Coen having come this year and partaking in it. Eskel thinks that if this is the price of knowing you, of knowing that small town, it really isn’t that bad. Not when he can return to a place where he’s more than welcome year around.

__

The first weeks of winter are less miserable, you finally let yourself be part of the town, talking to the bard, walking around. You know the loneliness will settle in soon… But it’s not as bad, not with the knowledge that Eskel will come back.

__

The witchers barring Vesemir are drinking, it’s late at night and they’re quite sloshed.

“So Esskeeeelll. Why don’t you tell uss about this uh, this human?” Lambert says, still downing his white gull.

Eskel snorts and does a ‘kind of motion’ with his hand.

“Hmm, you smell’d like trees when we got here.” Geralt slurs.

“Why are w-we in-te-rro-ga-ting me again?” He looks down at his beverage wondering if he should stop but his brothers are getting quite annoying.

Coen laughs and bumps Eskels shoulder.

“C’moon lets let the poor man be… f’r now” 

“Tell usss!” Lambert practically whines and Eskel squints at him, swaying slightly.   
“Why don’t you talk about your little Cat?”

Lambert stands up to tackle him and falls back into his seat before falling onto the ground. All four grown men burst into giddy laughter.

After some stumbling the somehow all end up on the floor in an almost group cuddle.

“Alr’ght alllright! They’re a druid.”

“A druid?”

“Yah.”

“Youuu gonna tell us anythin else?”

Eskel considers this. “They like griffinss and they have a pretty name.”

__

_ “When I was a boy… When I first got to the Griffin Keep, I didn’t get along with any of the kids except for one.” It had been your first day at school, you had trouble making friends and had come back home with tears in your eyes. You dad pulled you into a hug and cradled you in his arms. _

_ “He was a good friend, kind even after the trials. He told me once that it didn’t matter that I didn’t get along with many people, he knew what I was worth, and I had to know it too.” You leaned back into him and looked up, he barely ever talked about his days at the griffin keep. You know maybe you shouldn’t push, but you’re also 6 and awfully curious. _

_ “What was your friend like when you were grownups?” He had looked down at you with a kind smile before looking up, his eyes had a funny look to them. You still couldn’t quite place it. _

_ “He was… He was a god man, well mannered and an incredible swordsman. Best I ever met. The trials didn’t treat him well, he was always insecure about that, but he tried to quell mine. He would’ve liked you.” _

_ “Yeah?” _

_ “Yeah. He was a kind man.” _

_ “What happened to him, papa?” _

_ He pursed his lips and swallowed. “He died.” _

_ “Why?” _

_ “... How about we talk about something else, my little griffin?” _

_ You frowned but nodded. _

You wake up and rub your eyes, you often dreamt of your dad or of Ryia, but it was rarely just a peaceful memory. You find yourself thinking about this witcher once in a while, he never really told you what had happened but you know. He hurt him, not of his own volition… But he did. You sigh, taking out your medallion from under your chemise and staring at it. You wish that this witcher was still alive, just to have someone to talk to about your dad. But life is rarely ever that kind to you.

___

The snow melts and spring comes through, Eskel runs out in a hurry, ignoring his brothers and almost leaving some materials behind, but really who can blame him? He has a town waiting. An entire town that enjoys his presence. 

He searches, taking contracts, growing tired of the smell of fear and disgust people have when they see him. A month, two months passed. It shouldn’t feel so long, but it is, it is when he misses a kind town with smiling faces. He sighs, lighting a fire with igni when the path to the town lights up. A smile tugging at his lips.

__

Winter goes by as it always does, lonely and dreadful and full of ghosts. You visit your father's grave, the small garden in the town and you visit Ryia’s by the river, you cry in your father's study and over Ryia’s old daggers and you try to calm yourself, trying to remember every detail of Eskels face, you try to distract yourself as you sit down with the towns carver, with the bard. And it works… Somewhat.

  
  


You have your father's sword out when you hear a horse approaching, you hastily put it away and run to the front door, already knowing who it will be. You see Eskel and smile widely at him running into his arms, you hug each other, smile on your faces and pull back, he’s smiling widely. He rarely does, but this is you’ve known each other for two years now, and he’s grown more comfortable. It’s a beautiful smile, showing off his fangs, his eyes bright. It makes him look younger and you find yourself staring. Your head ducks down and you invite him in.

__

He knows he shouldn’t be attached, that he shouldn’t keep coming back, that the small feelings growing in his chest for you go against everything he’s been taught… But he can’t find himself caring, not as he’s sitting down with the baker and the blacksmith after coming back from a contract, having insisted he have dinner with him. The blacksmith helping with his swords and daggers, he feels good, relaxed and welcome.

The baker, Arabella, looks over to the blacksmith, Peronell. Sodin nods. “So, Eskel, how long will you be staying this time?” Before he can answer Peronell speaks “We know you have to travel but… We are having Wyvern problems and some drowners. Maybe you could be around a little longer.”

Eskels heart feels like it’s going to burst. He knows they can handle that, that it isn’t a real threat. He knows they just want  _ him _ around and he feels like he’s about to choke on it. He huffs a laugh “Two weeks wouldn’t be too bad… Wouldn’t want that Wyvern problem to get out of hand.” 

Arabella smiles brightly. “Alma will be very pleased that her favorite knight will be here for her birthday.”    
He blushes slightly “I’m not really not a knight..”

Peronell snorts “Try telling her that. She admires you” she says smiling softly.

“Well, I’m glad I’ll be here for her birthday too. She’s turning 9 right?”

“That she is! They grow up so fast…”

___

He ends up at your cottage as he always does, he sees the door open but doesn’t see you, he hears you speaking softly in the garden. You’re sitting down with Marmalade in your lap, telling her silly stories. You look up and smile at him.

“Hey.”

“Hey, having trouble sleeping?”

“Hmm, might have made a brew a bit too strong.”   
He sits in front of you “Do you mind some company?”

“Not at all. Contract was long?” You ask, tilting your head.

He shakes his head “Peronell and Arabella insisted I had dinner with them.”

“Did they make you try out the new pastries.”

“Yup, they were good… Except for the… Sword themes one.”

You laugh “They keep trying to peddle that one but it tastes like it has actual swords in it.   
“It does! They also asked me how long I’ll be staying.”

You’re not looking at him, thinking he’s leaving soon and that… It’s getting harder to say goodbye. “Oh?”

“Yeah. I said two weeks” his voice quiet 

You look at him again and feel your heart flips, his eyes are kind and his smile is soft. It feels intimate. “Two weeks?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

You sit there, smiling at each other, drinking each other in under the starry night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna try to upload another chapter this weekend but it might be shorter. Come bother me at whatareyouac0p on tumblr


	7. Of Monsters and Mysteries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eskel meets up w Geralt n his bard, proceeds to get attacked by a monster when he leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for taking so long college has truly been killing me and I had to take a mental health break... I'll try to update more frequently. For now, have this!

Eskel is walking into a tavern when he spots Geralt sitting in a corner watching Jaskier perform. He smiles and walks over. Geralt notices and stands up to give him a one armed hug before sitting across from each other. 

Geralt eyes him, Eskel has been having an almost constant small smile on his face these days, and tight now is not exception. “You look good.” He grunts.   
“You don’t look too bad yourself old man.” Eskel grins when Geralt glares at him.   
“... You’ve been in a good mood these couple of years.” Eskel hums noncommittally “So I have.” Geralt opens his mouth to say something before closing it and turning his attention back to Jaskier.  
“This a new ballad?” Geralt grunts in affirmation. Eskel tunes into the song more, a ballad about a lover with hair made of stars and a look of gold. He immediately knows what it’s about and eyes Geralt, knowing his frankly stubborn brother does not get who this is about.  
“So… How have you and Jaskier been? Finally gotten your head out of your ass?” He asks teasingly. Geralt frowns “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“Oh? You mean you haven’t told your little ‘song bi-’”  
“Shut up.” Geralt practically growls. Eskel laughs “Come on, Geralt, you have to know by now.”  
“Jaskier.” Geralt says as said bard approaches the witchers. He smiles brightly at Eskel. “Hello, Eskel! What does Geralt have to know by now?” he slides into the booth next to Geralt, both of them pressed up against each other.  
Eskel smirks but before he can say anything Geralt grits out “Nothing.” Jaskier eyes him weirdly but shrugs.   
“You know, Jaskier, that performance was good, wasn’t it Geralt?” Eskel asks, smirk widening. Geralt glares at him again. “It was fine.”  
Jaskier gasps “What high praise, Geralt! And thank you Eskel.” Jaskier smiles, as he waves over the waitress, leaning more into Geralt. Geralt gives Jaskier a soft look and Eskel shakes his head, chuckling. They really are a bit hopeless.

Later on, when Jaskier has gone to rest, Geralt and Eskel stay downstairs drinking and talking.

“You’ve been in a good mood… Even let Jaskier cheat at Gwent.” Geralt says suspiciously, Eskel shrugs. “Contracts have been more steady.” Geralt seems to not believe him. He keeps eyeing his brother. “Hmmm. And the new sheaths?” Eskel tenses slightly “On sale.” Which was technically true... It was practically gifted to him by Peronell. But Geralt doesn’t need to know that just yet. He feels a bit bad for keeping things from his brother, but he just wants to be selfish for a little longer.

_

Eskel leaves the next day, hugging Geralt and teasing a bit more. He heads out, he’s only been apart from the town for a month but he misses him. Could anyone really blame him? And he can’t stop thinking about you. Wanting to make you laugh with bad puns, wanting to see you interact with Lil Bleater.

He takes a few contracts here and there, staying at the ins that let him take Lil Bleater up to the room. He’s camping when a monster gets a jump on him, he kills it, but not without getting badly injured. The path appears, one of the Mayors spotting him and getting Scorpion, him and Lil Bleater into the town. He managed to stay awake until he was taken to your doorstep. He noticed your face twisting from joy into deep worry.   
You get him into the house and place him in the guest room, thanking the mayor profusely before starting to heal him. You run your hands through your hair, sighing. You’d really appreciate it if he stopped getting hurt but he hasn’t gotten this banged up in a while, so you’re pretty sure it’s not his fault. You collapse into the chair next to his bed and wait. You didn’t want to get this attached but here you are… Very much attached. And how could you not… Between his kindness, his skill, his smile… There’s a warm feeling in your chest that you do your best to squash. You refuse to think about what exactly that is. You’re still too scared.

__

You wake jolt awake when you hear a low groan, you hadn’t realized you dozed off in the first place. Your eyes meet and he gives you a weak smile, and if you weren’t sitting you know you’d be in danger of your knees going out.

“If we keep meeting like this I’ll start thinking you’re doing this on purpose to get me to heal you.” You tell him. He huffs out a laugh.  
“And if I am?” he says softly. You feel your heart get caught in your throat and you stare at each other, a strange tension in the air before he tries to sit up, wincing in pain. You sigh.  
“Let me help you, you stubborn man.” You sit him up and give him a fond look. He returns it, he looks grateful and you swallow.  
“You must be hungry. I’ll make you food and you can tell me how exactly this happened.” Your voice is soft and his smile widens as he nods.

He looks around the room when you leave, taking it in, the room seems to have more things than before. He notices something reflecting in the light, a buckle attached to a… Sheath? He tries to look closer. It’s definitely a sword sheath that seems to be attached to another one, his eyebrows draw together, he hasn’t seen any swords around though… He scans the rest of the room, curious. He spots another griffin figurine, crudely made next to a refined figurine. The cruder one seemed to be made by a kid, he’d seen it around but it always seemed to vanish once he noticed it. He hums.

You come in carrying a food tray which makes him sit up. You pointedly avoid the sheath and he decides to ignore it too.

“So, what happened this time.”  
“I promise it wasn’t my fault this time”  
You raise an eyebrow   
He chuckles “I was setting camp and I don’t know how I didn’t hear it… It was like an endrega had popped out of thin air! My medallion didn’t even vibrate.”  
You frown and bite your lip “Shit.”  
“What?”

“Well. When I used to travel, the path to here would always be free of monsters… Until it started appearing at night. My dad and I would travel together and we had to learn to expect an attack because at night, the monsters that plague our town would appear too, following their own path into our forests.” You remember a particularly awful one, where two bruxa had appeared and saw them before they could react, you had almost died and your dad had almost given up The Path… Maybe you shouldn’t have insisted on keeping traveling together. You turn away, the mention of your father being too much.

“You used to travel?”

“Yes.”

You hear him shift in bed. “What happened?”

“My father died.”

Eskel swallows looking at how stiff you are, smelling the sour, bitter smell of grief and salt from unshed tears. “I’m sorry.”

He wonders, wonders why you truly don’t travel, having sensed you were hiding something. This only increases when you ask what he did.  
“Oh, many things… He hunted.” “Well, it’s not important, why don’t we go over the shield.” “He taught me to use swords.” Deflections and half truths, he decides to drop it in exchange of calming you down.

You and Eskel discuss the path, the monsters, agreeing that he should travel with a forcefield to use in the forests at night, he notices how upset you get when he talks about why he has to do it so frequently.

“You shouldn’t fucking have to.”  
He says your name in an attempt to calm you.  
“No! It’s fucked up and stupid and bigoted and and-”  
“I know, but it’s getting better thanks to Jaskier.”  
“Your brother's boyfriend?”  
He snorts, “they have, unfortunately, not gotten their heads out of their ass for that.”

You huff out a laugh and then give him a worried look. He can smell the stress that comes from learning how often he’s denied a warm place to rest his head and hesitantly grabs your hands softly, still scared that somehow you would reject him. “Hey, why don’t you pass me the poetry I bought and I can read to you?” 

You give a small smile and nod.


	8. The Medallion.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst! I'm so sorry it's short, I want to dedicate a whole chapter to the confrontation.

You feel yourself relax to the sound of Eskels voice, basking in the warmth of it and how deep it is, you two spend the day like that, later you draw as he reads in silence, simply enjoying each other's company.

The next day is just as… As well, soft. The lake appears once again the both of you sit by it and talk.

“Tell me about your contract, about the songs Jaskier has written” Your voice is soft, as if sharing a secret. A moment just for you and Eskel

“Not much to tell… There was a forktail I found, some drowners and… There  _ was _ a griffin. And it’s mate, that one was particularly difficult… Had to you Lil bleater  _ and _ scorpion as bait.”

“Doesn’t sound particularly ideal.”

He huffs, “It wasn’t.”

The conversation goes on, you updating him on how the town is doing, flourishing more as the monsters are stuck down by him, how you;ve managed to join the town more, both of you are pressed up against each other, content to simply exist in each other’s company. 

__

Leaving is hard, but coming back is easy, having learned from the last time, Eskel manages to stay safe entering at night, excited to see you, though he could never admit it to you,still afraid that you might be disgusted if you knew how much he cares for you. An irrational fear… But one that does not ebb nonetheless

You, on the other hand, are walking in your house in nothing more than a chemise and some pants, your medallion out in the open, not expecting in kind of company, too lost in your spell brewing to notice the approaching sounds of Lil Bleater and Scorpions foot steps. The thought of hiding your medallion not even crossing your mind, that is until the door opens, and you turn around with a smile, knowing it must be Eskel. You forget, you forget the secret you keep as you spot him walking over to give him a hug until you see his eyes land on your fathers Griffin medallion, a shocked look on his face, twisted into something you cannot begin or want to recognize.

He, on the other hand, feels some sense of betrayal, of confusion, of weariness… And of anger.

You freeze, unable to even think of what to say.

“Eskel, Eskel it’s not-”

But Eskel is already expecting the worst, the ugly, the wrong, having seen humans wear medallions as a sign of… Of a hunt. He doesn’t know what to think, doesn’t know how to react, frozen, his ugliest thoughts come to life.

“Don’t” his voice is lower than usual and choked.”


	9. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't leave you guys on a cliffhanger

“Eskel. Listen it isn’t-” your voice was desperate and frustrated but all Eskel could think of was the town that had killed Coens Brother… Did you travel to that town? Did you find it  _ amusing _ , a Medallion was everything, the only thing left when one of them died, you knew that you told them that. And maybe it was the paranoia already stemming from how you look at their scar once in a while. Or the sad look in your eyes when mentioning villages that were kind but… He couldn’t stop himself.   
“How much did it cost? Hm? To get that piece? Your little obsession with griffin statues… Is this another part of this? Do you find this  _ amusing?” _ he’s trying to ground his rage but he can’t, he had seen it before from people that had seemed kind… He just doesn’t want to believe that it’s you… But he can’t help himself.

“You  _ know _ what that means was it a trophy was it another decoratio-?!”

“I’m a goddamned child surprise!” You scream, your voice booming through the house. His shock was palpable, his brows suddenly furrowed in confusion. You take a deep, furious breath. “I’m a fucking… Unwanted child who’s only loving father figure fucking  _ died _ at the hands of humans! Did you really think after all the time everything? After all the times… I thought maybe you’d  _ know _ me by now do you really think so little of me?!” their voice cracking at then end   
He stood in shock, cursing his outburst, cursing his insecurity… Cursing himself.   
He says your name “I… I shouldn’t have-”

“Get out of my house.” You say, your voice quiet but thunderous.

“Wait I don’t- Do you- Are we…”

“I don’t… I don’t fucking know. But get out. Get out now I need.” you turn around “I don’t need this right fucking now.”

He stays there for a moment, wondering why he assumed. It all moves so fast he can barely handle. Fuck,  _ fuck _ . He can’t have ruined the best- Shit.

He says your name softly. “I’m sorry. I… I’ll be at the Inn” You almost don’t hear it, but you hear the pain in his voice, the strain and you take a shuddering breath. You hear him leave, you hear Scorpion take off and the thunderous beat of your own heart and do the only thing you can do. You cry and sob and weep. You collapse onto the floor and stay there’s feeling somehow like you had lost yet another piece of yourself.   
  


Eskel is at the inn, he had barely talked to the innkeeper, barely registered the kind ness. Instead collapsing onto the bed, Lil Bleater is close to him, as if to give him comfort and space. He reaches into his pocket, thumb running over the carving of the griffin and wolf he had commissioned. It had cost quite a bit of coin but god's, was it worth it… Maybe. Maye that can be a start, he thinks to himself. Maybe he can fix things. He needs to fix things…    
He can’t handle the thought of not fixing things.

___

The passes tortuously slowly for you until you, prompting you to sleep early after fing a day of nothing except crying, herb collecting, staring at your fathers portrait and looking over the sketches you made of Ryia… Ryia, someone you had to stop yourself from thinking about. The next day is the same, until the third day when you cave and take out a bottle of alcohol you have stored for special occasions, or well,  _ had _ stored for special occasions, there wasn’t much of those anymore. You forgo using a cup and drink it straight out of the bottle. You’re sloshed and trashed, you look at the window and realize it’s only a few hours after midday and break into hysterical laughter.

You hear a knock on the door and let out a frustrated groan, thinking it’s Tiphanee, he had tried to bother you yesterday but you faked being asleep, you didn’t  _ want _ to see anyone… Well, you did but-but maybe not yet. You go to answer when the knock gets more insistent, feeling that they would not give up so easily.

On the other side of the door is one of the reasons you’re sloshed. Eskel stands in front of you, looking guilty but determined, you before your look turns sour, and you weakly hit his chest.

“You-Youuu fuckin, goddamn. How could you, how. I’m not… Im not  _ like _ that!” your words are slurred and your tone a bit hysterical. He steps forward, reaching out to touch you before deciding not not. “I know” his voice is soft and strained, you ignore the pang in your chest. He looks down at your medallion before running his hand over his scar, a nervous tick. “Can… Can I come inside? Please?”   
You stare at him for a while before moving back and motionaing him to come inside. You pick up the bottle again and his eyes go a bit wide, not whether he was in his right to take the bottle, that is until you started speaking.   
“You fuc-fuckin aasshole. I. I  _ care _ about yoouu and you do what- youu you  _ accuse _ me of…” You go to maybe his him in the chest again but end up burying your head in chest, your body shaking from crying. Tentatively he wraps his arms around you. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” the way he says your name is shaky and sincere, leaving taking a deep shuttering breath. “That’s…”   
“I know, I know and I’ll make it up to you, when you’re sober we’ll talk. You need to sleep.” You groan and then sigh. “Hmph. But only tooo not talk t’ you anym’re.” he lets out something halfway through a sigh of relief and a huff of amusement and leads you to your room. He tucks you into your bed.   
“Still mad at you.” You say in a drowsy voice. He nods and whispers “I know.”

__   
  


You wake up to the smell of eggs sausage, head pounding to find a cup of water next to your bed. You remember the night before, of course you do, you remember how soft his voice was but you also remember how quick he was to jump to the conclusion that you were somehow cruel that you got your dad's medallions through… Through cruel means. You purse your lips and wonder, has that happened before? Was he going from experience, you aren’t sure but you know you’ll forgive him, you can’t help it, not with the way he looks at you, not with the way he  _ smiles _ , not with how soft he is, how kind he how… Ugh. That strange feeling in your chest bubbles up again and you push it down.  _ No, we’re friends. That’s all _ .    
You slowly walk to the kitchen and see him setting up the plates on the table and you stare for a while, it’s all so painfully domestic and your emotions war within you, unable to decide whether to be… be soft or affronted.   
“Glad to see you woke up, how are you feeling?” His voice is kind, fuck why is his voice so kind? “Like shit… COuld be worse though.” He hums. You sit down across from his and both of you stare for a while unable to say anything until he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pouch.   
He says you name, steady and determined “I… I’m sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, it's just… I’ve seen it before I’ve seen people collect our medallions and I was so scared for a moment. They… They killed one of my fellow witchers Brother and he never had his medallion on him and it was- I should’ve known you aren’t like that. I um. Hm.” his voice goes a little more quiet “I got you something, before I… I got you this.” He pulls out a carving of a wolf and a Griffin seemingly dancing around each other in a playful manner. With shaking hands you reach for it and hold it against your chest, over your medallion.   
“Eskel.” you let out a choked sound.   
“I know it might not be-”   
“Shut up. I. I love it.” You look up at him. “I’m still upset but I. You’re my friend” you whisper the last part. “We’ll be fine.”

“We’ll be fine.” He says, reassuring himself, repeating your promise.

__

He takes down a Wyvern next and moves back into your house to stay while his injuries heal.   
“I’ve done it before I’ll be fine”   
“Hmmm, it is my house, though, and you’re making it up to me” you tease, he simply smiles.

That’s how things go, teasing and laughing tentatively, slowly coming back together, and then all of a sudden fitting in like before, like if nothing had happened.

He comes and he goes and one day, while enjoying each other's company in the quiet you speak, soft, barely above a whisper, sharing a secret.   
“My dad thought he was a traitor, always avoided Witchers, never wanted me to be one, never wanted me to go through the trials.” Eskel stares, hanging onto every word, basking in the trust and feeling your heart break. “When we- when we traveled together he would get this  _ look _ on his face when he heard another Witcher passed by… I think. I think he killed his Brother by accident… I think he couldn’t save him after a hunt. I think he hated himself for it.” Eskel moves to hold your hand, running his thumb over it, offering you comfort.   
“Do you think he was a traitor?” your voice is small   
“I think he was just trying to survive. I think he wanted you to live.”

As much as you grow closer there are things he knows you keep from him, the way you hide your swords when he finally arrives in town, the way he notices you hiding the portrait he found by accident. But he doesn’t push, he understands, he understands the want to hide the pain. After all, he has secrets himself.

__   
  


“About time you got here!” Tiphanee greets him, smiling, showing off his fangs. It’s dusk and Eskel had barely been able to make it before the start of fall. He quirks his eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware you were waiting for me.” He says, amused

“Well of course we were, you’re our Witcher.” He says it so casually, making something swell in Eskels chest… Their Witcher… A place to be welcomed. He knew what he had to do at that moment. He has to convince you to travel with him, he has to show his Brothers this place… He has to bring in his two… His two homes.   
The thought of you at Kaer Morhen warms something deep inside him he can’t place, something fuzzy and sweet. And as he sees you arriving, a colorful mask on your face and sees you take it off, smiling at him he knows.

Oh…  _ Oh. _

**Author's Note:**

> I hope yall like it so far!!


End file.
